Rick steps into breach

ACCOUNT director Rick Guttridge has been appointed acting managing director at Brazen PR while its two co-founders are on maternity leave. Rick, 30, will be in charge of the Manchester agency while owner Nina Wheeler and director Emma Beck are away.

ACCOUNT director Rick Guttridge has been appointed acting managing director at Brazen PR while its two co-founders are on maternity leave.

Rick, 30, will be in charge of the Manchester agency while owner Nina Wheeler and director Emma Beck are away.

Ms Beck is already on leave from Ancoats-based Brazen, while Ms Wheeler is due to leave in September.

The move comes as part of a review of the senior team, which also sees Peter Burling promoted from account director to senior account director, joining Gary Bramwell and Jennifer O'Grady.

Nina Wheeler said: "There will only be a short period of time when my absence and Emma's will overlap and we wanted to make sure that the correct management was in place.

"Rick will work alongside our highly experienced senior team to continue to offer clients top class strategic communications advice."

Meanwhile, Ms Wheeler has spoken candidly about her moves to buy out former boyfriend and Brazen co-owner, David Bell, one of the senior managers at Manchester advertising giant CheethamBellJWT .

She said that Mr Bell still owns 50 per cent of Brazen having put £10,000 into the business when it was established six years ago.

Ms Wheeler would not say how much it will cost for her to buy Mr Bell's share of the company.

"It wasn't that he put a lot of dosh into the company," she added. " He was my partner and he supported me at home but just as I don't work in advertising, David doesn't work in PR and he hasn't been massively involved in building Brazen.

"He wants a a fair value for his 50 per cent. I'm buying back his shares and I will be Brazen's 100 per cent shareholder."

Speaking about his challenge at Brazen, Mr Guttridge added: "This is the biggest challenge of my life and I look forward to proving myself in the role.

"We have an amazing roster of clients and the team is hungry to carry on growing the business and our offering.

"It's an exciting time in the industry with the media landscape and the way brands interact with consumers evolving at a rapid pace and Brazen will continue to be at the forefront of offering clients original methods of achieving their goals."